What do I do when my company’s details change?

A registered company has to meet certain requirements by law. One of these requirements is to notify the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (“ASIC”) of any changes to your company’s details.

What changes do I need to inform ASIC of?

These changes include, but are not limited to:

common changes such as appointment or cessation of an office holder, changes to the addresses of current officeholders, and retirement of officeholders;

Form 484 is only use for common changes to company details. For more complicated changes, such as changes to company name or any share changes where shares are being issue or cancelled, you need to find the correct form through the ASIC website. It is important that you use the correct form because incorrect lodging can make your changes invalid and expose your business late fees and fines.

You should also note that, for some changes, special resolutions need to be passed by the company and filed with ASIC together with the relevant forms.

What happens if I fail to notify ASIC?

The Corporations Act requires officeholders of a company to inform ASIC of certain changes. If you do not do so you may be contacted by ASIC. ASIC will most likely send you a letter and you must comply with the requests outlined in the letter. If you do not respond to a letter from ASIC, further action may be taken, and you may receive further warning letters, notices pursuant to s1274(11) of the Corporations Act, court action or possibly deregistration of your company.

Is there a time period? Are there late penalties?

For each ASIC form, there is a set time period for filing. Each form has their individual lodging periods which can be checked at http://www.asic.gov.au/.

For example, for changes covered by Form 484, the lodging period is twenty-eight (28) days. There are no applicable fees for filing this form. However, if you fall out of the lodging period, there are late fees of $74.00 if your application is up to one (1) month late, and $308.00 if it is over one (1) month late.

As stated earlier, these time periods and late fees vary from form to form. It is best to check on the ASIC website or by contacting your solicitor.

Conclusion

Are you making changes to your company? Make sure you meet the requirements and deadlines to avoid paying late fees.

Lachlan is the CEO of LegalVision, an innovative and tech-driven law firm. LegalVision is disrupting Australia's legal industry and transforming the way in which Australian businesses access legal services. He previously worked as a corporate lawyer and investment banker in London, Paris, Amsterdam and Hong Kong. Lachlan specialises in banking and finance, capital raising and startups.

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